Chapter 249
Claire knew who Phoebe was. Ever since that live-streamed variety show, when it was revealed that Phoebe was the true heiress of the Jenkins family, Claire had been keeping an eye on her. Their experiences were somewhat similar. She had watched as Phoebe decisively cut ties with the Jenkins family, making her brothers suffer one by one and completely ruining their reputations. Claire felt both admiration and satisfaction. At the same time, she also knew that Phoebe was a powerful horoscope master. So when she saw Phoebe today, she was both surprised and wary—worried that Phoebe might suddenly interfere in the Woodward family’s affairs.
Claire hadn’t known about Una’s attempt to harm Emmett with the cursed ring. If she had, she might have secretly warned him. But she wasn’t surprised—this was exactly the kind of thing Una would do.
Phoebe could see Claire’s internal struggle. She said, “I just want to know—why are you giving Una your luck? This is important to me, so I have to figure it out.” Una was the same type of person as Sienna. Phoebe couldn’t just ignore that.
Claire thought for a moment before saying, “I’ll tell you, but you can’t let the Woodward family know—at least not yet.” She could tell that if she didn’t explain, Phoebe might get involved and unintentionally disrupt her plans.
Phoebe nodded. “Of course. I have no ties to the Woodward family, and I don’t like the way they operate anyway.” From what she had learned, Claire’s experience had been even worse than her own. Raised by her adoptive parents, Claire had been mistreated—forced to do all the housework from a young age. She had only been able to continue school thanks to the generosity of a kind teacher. Without winning scholarships every year, she would have had to drop out after middle school. While Claire suffered, Una thrived. It was just like what had happened between Phoebe and Sienna—once luck was tied together, one would rise while the other fell.
When the truth about the real and fake heiresses was exposed, Claire was brought back to the Woodward family. But instead of being treated well, she was oppressed even more. She wasn’t allowed to eat until the entire family had finished their meal—under the guise of teaching her proper dining etiquette. She wasn’t given any pocket money. If she wanted any money of her own, she had to work on weekends. At the same high school as Una, she endured bullying but had to keep quiet. The Woodward family didn’t help her. Instead, they dismissed it, saying, “Flies don’t land on a flawless egg. If people are picking on you, it must be your fault. Why doesn’t Una ever run into such problems?” To make matters worse, they even forced Claire to fetch foot-washing water for Una. If she refused, she was made to stand outside all night as punishment. And this was just the tip of the iceberg.
If Phoebe hadn’t seen the DNA test results, she would have doubted whether Claire was truly the Woodward family’s daughter. They treated her more like an enemy than family. Seeing the disgust in Phoebe’s eyes, Claire let out a breath of relief. She said, “I want Una to take over the Woodward Group—then change her attitude and kick the entire Woodward family out of the company. I want them to see what their decades of scheming has brought them. That’s the only way they’ll regret everything they’ve done.”
Phoebe caught onto something. One word Claire used stood out—“scheming.” A thought suddenly occurred to her. She asked, “Scheming for years? Are you saying your parents knew about the baby swap all along?”
Claire froze for a moment, clearly surprised at how quickly Phoebe had pieced it together. But since Phoebe had already figured it out, there was no point in hiding it. Especially since the Woodward family had done such disgusting things—she had no intention of covering for them. She had always planned to expose everything once she no longer needed to hide.
She nodded. “Yes. Not only did they know, but they were the ones who arranged the swap.”
Phoebe was stunned. “They did it? Why?”
Claire explained, “After Una and I were born, a so-called ‘master’ told my parents that I was a bringer of misfortune, while Una was a bringer of fortune. According to my birth chart, if Una was raised in the Woodward family, she would become Stanley’s guiding star—helping him lead the Woodward family to greater success. That’s what convinced them to swap us. That fraud of a ‘master’ also claimed that because I was a disaster-bringer, if I lived a good life, it would negatively impact the Woodward family’s luck. The only way to ensure the family’s prosperity was for me to suffer; the more I was oppressed, the stronger Una’s luck would be. So they swapped us. And my adoptive parents knew and agreed to it. The two families arranged everything together. And my adoptive parents were paid every year by the Woodward family—to keep me suppressed and broken.”
Claire had cried too much in the past. Now, she had no more tears left. All that remained was exhaustion and sorrow. She continued, “I never imagined my biological parents would do this to me—all for some so-called luck. And when I finally returned to the Woodward family, they personally made sure I suffered. I only found out the truth when I left my homework at home one day, and my teacher sent me back to get it. I accidentally overheard them talking. I tried to run away. But they caught me, locked me in a dark room for three months, and punished me severely. After that, I stopped resisting. I agreed to give Una my luck. Because I realized something—Una is ambitious. Over the years, she’s been quietly infiltrating the Woodward Group. Stanley is an idiot—he only moves forward because Una pushes him. When the time is right, she’ll replace him. If the Woodward family wants Una to lead them to greater success, then I’ll let them have their wish. But who knows what surname the Woodward Group will have in the future?”
Her eyes burned with hatred. Phoebe finally understood. She hadn’t expected the truth to be this twisted. She sighed. “If you keep letting her drain your luck, you won’t just be unlucky—you won’t live long.”
Claire gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Even if I don’t give it to her, I can’t escape. If I refuse, the Woodward family punishes me. I’ve tried to run away—not just once, but multiple times. I avoided security cameras, left my phone behind, didn’t use any ID, and even hid in the mountains on foot. But they always found me. And every time they brought me back, the punishment was worse. So I came up with a different kind of revenge. My real enemy isn’t Una. It’s the Woodward family.”
Phoebe nodded. “I understand. Being betrayed by your own family like this—it makes sense to hate them.”
The Woodward family had sacrificed their own flesh and blood for an uncertain future. They had switched babies based on the words of some fortune-teller and deliberately had their daughter abused—just to gamble on their luck. It was monstrous.
Phoebe reached out and held Claire’s arm. “If you ever have the chance to escape—to truly break free from the Woodward family—would you take it?” She was both angry and sympathetic toward Claire. Claire might be consumed by hatred, but she wasn’t beyond saving. She wasn’t someone who wanted to destroy everything—she only wanted revenge on those who had wronged her. If someone gave her a chance, she might be able to find a way out.
But Claire shook her head. “No. Right now, all I want is revenge. I want them to feel what it’s like to be discarded.” She didn’t care if she had to sacrifice herself. Because at this point, revenge was the only thing keeping her alive.